Mt Willamson

Mt Williamson dominates the views for a long stretch of 395. It is the second tallest peak in California at 14,375 ft but the most prominent, with over 8,000 ft of vertical gain. There is no easy way to the top of Mt Williamson. Route-finding skills are important, as well as tolerance to bushwhacking and exposed scrambling. The popular winter, ski-mountaineering route follows Bairs creek drainage. 

The first 2000 ft are rather brutal trail-less hike up dirt and scree. It is worth it. Spectacular skinning follows in a large gully. The gully narrows down to a bottleneck chute, distinguished by rock tower, visible from 395 (just south of Independence). The couloir tops at about 45 deg (alu crampons come in handy). Past it is a long slog to the summit, on a perfect skinning pitch. Spectacular views of Mt Whitney, Russell, Tyndall, Barnard are offered. It was April, and we were able to ski from the very summit. Great day. 

Few tips:

A reasonable level of fitness is required for a day trip. A good list of "prerequisites"  would be Mt. Langley (northeast gully), Mt Whitney, Mt Birch, Mt. Tom. Some parties choose to go for an overnight trip. I strongly recommend doing it in a day.   

Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/badakov/MtWilliamson#